Buying a used Avance: confirm which boat you're actually looking at
A listing filed under Avance may be one of two unrelated boats: a small American one-design dinghy built by a now-defunct Missouri yard whose name is spelled with a d, or a Nordic cruising yacht built for Scandinavian archipelago sailing. These aren't variations on one brand. Before weighing condition or fit, confirm which of the two a given listing actually names -- the risk profile, the size, and the intended use are entirely different depending on which side of the name you're looking at. A one-design dinghy built to a class rule and a cruising yacht handle, get maintained, and get sailed in completely different ways, so getting the identification right isn't a formality -- it changes what you should be inspecting and what you should expect the boat to do once you're aboard.
Which era to target
On the American side, the Demon and US1 both date to the company's earlier, one-design-only years -- 1961 and 1973 respectively -- before a late-1970s push into cruising boats that the company couldn't sustain and that preceded its 1980 close. Buying either one means buying from the more established chapter of that company's history, not the venture that ended it.
Of the Nordic models, the 36 is the one with a dated origin story: an enthusiast's account credits Peter Norlin with drawing it in 1977 for Baltic and Finnish archipelago sailing rather than offshore racing -- worth knowing if you're weighing it against a boat drawn with open-water racing in mind.
Navigating the lineup
The lineup here splits into a small-boat American wing -- the trailerable Demon and US1 -- and a Nordic cruising wing spanning roughly 25 to 40 feet across the 245, 33, 36, 40, and 40 DH. Confirm which wing a listing belongs to before comparing it against anything else in the full model directory on this page. Neither wing benefits from being judged by the other's standards: a Demon or US1 should be evaluated as a one-design racing dinghy, not scaled down from cruising-yacht expectations, and the reverse holds for anything in the 245-through-40-DH range.
Where they're listed
Avance listings appear across 5 countries. Germany has the most listings with 7 (63.6%), followed by Switzerland and Denmark.
Country view
11 listings · 5 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | $44,855 | 7 | 1 | 63.6% |
| Switzerland | $48,490 | 1 | 0 | 9.1% |
| Denmark | $34,719 | 1 | 1 | 9.1% |
| France | $81,555 | 1 | 0 | 9.1% |
| Netherlands | $33,787 | 1 | 1 | 9.1% |
All Avance models
1 model grouped by length overall. Open any model to see recent asking prices and active listings.